WHAT IS KOBE BEEF?

Vegetarians. Back slowly away from this post. I can’t promise what will happen to you if you don’t…

Sinking my teeth into a Kobe beef steak has been on my Japan bucket list for as long as I can remember. It started when I read a somewhat unbelievable story about cows that are fed beer, massaged for hours and listen to classical music. All in the quest for the most tender stress-free meat possible.

So as soon as we booked our tickets to Osaka/Kyoto, I knew that a little side trip to eat at a Kobe steakhouse was going to happen. It only made sense since the Kobe beef price in Japan is much, much lower than in other countries. Never mind that we were travelling with a vegan.

WHERE TO EAT KOBE BEEF IN KOBE

I spent a fair bit of time researching all the Kobe restaurant where we could indulge our meat fantasies, and narrowed it down to Steakland Kobe or Wakkoqu based on this blog post.

A steak that’s life-changing? Sounded pretty good to me. But in the end, Wakkoqu’s $150 price tag deterred me, and we ended up at the much more reasonable, but still excellently reviewed Steak land.

Sure, it probably wasn’t the best Kobe beef in Kobe, but it would do for our purposes.

STEAKLAND: A KOBE JAPANESE STEAKHOUSE

Steakland Kobe Steakhouse is a few floors full of teppanyaki style seating, set up so that everyone can have a view of what the chef is up to.

After some debate, and more than a little confusion while we tried to find out exactly which part of the cow each meal came with, I settled on the Kobe Lunch Set, and Agri ordered the more expensive Sirloin Lunch Set. The idea being that we would try each other’s steaks to compare, and save a bit of cash in the process.

The steaks appeared long before someone to cook them did, so we spent some time staring at their juicy redness, dreaming about how delicious they would be, before we actually got to eat them. Even raw, the beef looked different than anything I’ve seen before, with a pinkish cast and threads of fat throughout.

We were asked if we wanted our steak rare, or medium rare – with no higher choice offered. The chef then sliced, diced and carefully prepared each morsel of meat with absolute precision to the exact level of doneness.

My cheaper Kobe beef was already beyond anything I’d ever tasted, but when I placed a piece of Agri’s more expensive cut in my mouth, let’s just say I was transported to steak nirvana. It basically evaporated in my mouth, leaving a taste so rich, yet light and flavourful, it was hard to believe it was just meat.

My medium-rare steak

Agri’s rare sirloin

I can’t say that it was life-changing, but it was definitely the best piece of grilled beef I’ve ever had the pleasure of eating.

KOBE STEAKHOUSE MENU PRICES

There’s a huge number of Kobe beef restaurant in Kobe, all with varying service and cost levels. They sky is really the limit when it comes to Kobe Steakhouse menu prices.

However, Steakland is solidly on the tourist radar for good reason. Sure, it’s not the best Kobe restaurant, but it offers one of the best value Kobe beef sets in the country. Our meal in total, including beer was 12,800 Yen, and included a mid-range cut, one of the most expensive steaks on the menu, soup, salad and coffee.

We arrived around 12:30 on a Saturday and though we found a line outside the restaurant, we were seated quickly (about 15 minutes). There was no issue with bringing our stroller or the baby into the restaurant.

Sannomiya Station

Meeting some locals in Kobe

Where the airport limousine bus drops you off

GETTING TO SANNOMIYA, KOBE

Steakland Kobe is a short walk away from Kobe’s Sannomiya Station. However, there are many, many other Kobe Japanese steakhouse in the immediate area if you don’t want to go to Steak land.

The bus stop is a 10 minute walk away from all the Kobe restaurant, and there’s plenty to see and do in the area. For an added bonus, Kobe steakhouse menu prices at lunch are much more affordable than dinner ones.

The bus ride takes approximately 80 minutes and costs 1950 Yen per person. Tickets can be purchased at a machine outside the airport terminal. From Terminal 3 where we landed, the bus departs on the hour at :05 and :55.

After filling your belly, you can walk off your meal by heading over to the nearby Ikuta Shrine – it’s one of the oldest shrines in the country, and one of the top things to do in Kobe. It’s just a few minutes away.

Are you a meat-eater? Have you ever eaten a life-changing steak? Where was it? Tell us all about it in the comments below. We’d love to hear from you!

Lol Bora wasn’t always a vegan, and before she turned, her favourite meal was steak! You’ll have to ask her if she resisted in person…I don’t want to be the person responsible for “outing” her. Hahahaha :p

I can understand your need to try it! This is something I dream of trying to. Moving to Korea has allowed me to try raw beef, but this is next on my eating bucket list for sure! Well written post and nice photos too 🙂

My family loves meat so I was laughing at your first sentence:-). So, how much was Steakland’s Beef? That 150$ price tag is indeed too steep. It’s one uber expensive treat. I have to check this Kobe Beef just to satisfy my curiousity:-)

I talk about the price later on in the post…it really depends on which cut u choose. STeakland is def one of the most affordable and well worth it I’d say! It’s so different than any other meat I’ve tried…

First thing I must say is, DAMN I’m hungry now!
It’s killing me. haha We went to Osaka, and made the trip out to Kobe but ended out steering away from the Kobe Beef because of the price…
But definitely something I will splurge on next time.

Now is that price RIGHT?
1280 Yen for your meal?
That’s like $13…
Is that the real price or a mistake? Maybe 12800?

I haven’t eaten a ton of steaks. In the 1.5 years I dated my (now ex) Canadian boyfriend who loved steaks, I ate more steaks than throughout the rest of my life! I’m no expert but I loved fillet mignon and sirloin cuts. Anyway, I found it amusing to learn that you sat there staring at a few raw steaks waiting for a chef to come cook them.^^ Nice write up.

While not a huge fan of just eating meat as a center point of the dish, I can see where having Kobe beef in Kobe would be one of those experiences that you recall years and years down the road. Looking at the portions, I think my hubby would probably be disappointed having paid a bunch of money to still be hungry. But maybe thats where an order of bear would do the trick.

It’s definitely worth trying. In fact, I ate it again the 2nd time I visited the area with my parents! We’re so close from Korea, it’d be a shame not to…especially since it’s soooo much more expensive in other parts of the world.

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